No abstract

No abstract

We develop highly robust and stretchable conductive transparent electrodes based on silver nanowires (AgNWs) deposited on functionalized chitosan biopolymer substrates. 11-aminoundecanoic acid is introduced as a surface modifier for enhancing the chemical bond. The chemically functionalized AgNW films achieve a low sheet resistance of 12.2 ohm/sq with a high transmittance of 88.9%. In addition, stretchable alternating current-driven electroluminescent devices and stretchable transparent heaters have been fabricated with AgNW/chitosan thin-films which can be cut, stretched, bent, and twisted without performance degradation. With this approach, stretchable electronics prepared on bio-compatible substrates can be easily applied to curved surfaces or human skins. IMPACT STATEMENT We demonstrate highly robust and stretchable transparent conductive electrodes based on the AgNWs/chitosan biopolymer with the organic surface modifier. The films can realize future biocompatible wearable electronics on the human body.

Soft, stretchable, conductive thin films have propelled to the forefront of applications in stretchable sensors for on-skin health monitoring. Stretchable conductive films require high conformability, stretchability, and mechanical/chemical stability when integrated into the skin. Here, we present a highly stretchable, conductive, and transparent natural rubber/silver nanowire (AgNW)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) composite film. Overcoating the PEDOT:PSS layer results in outstanding mechanical robustness and chemical stability by suppressing the mechanical and chemical degradation of the nanowire networks. Moreover, the introduction of the organic surface modifier enhances the bonding strength between the natural rubber substrate and AgNW at the interface. The highly conformable composite films are integrated into multifunctional on-skin sensors for monitoring various human motions and biological signals with low-power consumption. We believe that the highly stretchable, robust, and conformable natural rubber/AgNW/PEDOT:PSS composite film can offer new opportunities for next-generation wearable sensors for body motion and physiological monitoring.

We report on a new surface modifier which simultaneously improves electrical, optical, and mechanical properties of silver nanowire-based stretchable transparent electrodes. The transparent electrodes treated with 11-aminoundecanoic acid achieve a low sheet resistance of 26.0 ohm/sq and a high transmittance of 90% with an excellent stretchability. These improvements are attributed to the effective formation of a strong chemical bond between silver nanowire networks and elastomeric substrates by 11-aminoundecanoic acid treatment. The resistance change of the optimized silver nanowire/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly-(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) thin-films is only about 10% when the film is stretched by 120%. In addition, the chemical stability of stretchable silver nanowire films is significantly improved by the introduction of conductive PEDOT:PSS overcoat film. The optimized electrodes are utilized as high-performance stretchable transparent heaters, successfully illustrating its feasibility for future wearable electronics.